Illinois has agreed to delay the rollout of its controversial 0.2% crypto transaction tax by six months, pushing the effective date of the Digital Asset Tax from Jan. 1, 2027 to July 1, 2027, in a joint motion filed in Sangamon County Circuit Court. The agreement hands the state's crypto users a temporary reprieve—but only if a judge signs off.

State officials and the industry plaintiffs filed the joint motion on Thursday, asking the court to preliminarily enjoin the tax—or temporarily block it—and stay its effective date until July. A preliminary injunction would prevent the levy from taking effect while the litigation continues. The motion stems from a lawsuit brought by the Chamber of Digital Commerce, known as The Digital Chamber, and the Illinois Blockchain Association against Illinois Department of Revenue Director David Harris and Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

Because the motion is agreed, or "stipulated," both sides are asking the judge for the same outcome, but the court must still approve it before the delay takes effect. Pending that approval, the levy's original Jan. 1, 2027 start date remains the operative one.

The Digital Chamber announced the deal on X and credited its attorneys at the law firm Bellementis PLLC:

Illinois has agreed to delay implementation of its Digital Asset Tax from January 1 to July 1, 2027, following a lawsuit brought by The Digital Chamber and Illinois Blockchain Association. We thank @BellementisPLLC attorneys @teresagoody , @AndoniOlta , and Angela Papalaskaris for… pic.twitter.com/GrZ9ggBZHc

— The Digital Chamber (@DigitalChamber) October 1, 2026

The delay does not settle the underlying case, however. The Digital Chamber and the Illinois Blockchain Association are still challenging whether the tax is constitutional and enforceable, leaving the levy's long-term fate unresolved while the litigation proceeds.

The measure at the center of the dispute traces back to June, when Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Digital Asset Tax Act into law as part of the state's 2027 budget. The law imposes a 0.2% levy on crypto activity in the state, including purchases and transfers, to be collected by digital asset brokers such as major exchanges. If the judge approves the motion, those firms would not face collection obligations until mid-2027. The Crypto Council for Innovation called it the "most punitive digital asset tax" in the country, and lawmakers estimated it could raise as much as $60 million in 2027.

Critics have zeroed in on how broadly the levy applies. The Digital Chamber has argued the tax hits users whether or not they realize any gain.

A separate legal challenge is also proceeding. The Blockchain Association and the Crypto Council for Innovation are pursuing their own case against the tax. On Sept. 9, they asked the same court to block it, arguing that firms were already spending millions of dollars to build compliance systems without meaningful guidance from the state. With the stipulated motion now before it as well the same court has two distinct challenges to the levy on its docket.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the House Ways and Means Committee advanced the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act last month. Among other changes, the bill would eliminate gain-or-loss calculations on qualifying network fees of $10 or less, starting in 2028—keeping digital asset taxation a live issue in Washington even as the Illinois levy's fate rests with the courts.